Thursday, October 20, 2011

Cassy’s Corner- Quirky Characters

We all love the characters who stand out. There are the ones
we chuckle about, want to invite to dinner, wish they wouldn’t go away when we
turn the last page. Many times these special people speak to us because they
somehow pull off what we never thought we could do ourselves- the overachiever,
the against-all-odds, the believer. Sometimes they are rotten to the core but
find redemption. Sometimes they are so much like us that there is no separating
their feelings and actions from our own.

Then there are the quirky ones. They make you giggle. You
shake your head but keep reading. At times you really don’t believe what they
are doing or saying, but you keep loving every minute that they are on the
page. I never have liked slap-stick humor. I hated The Three Stooges. Yet, when
Stephanie Plum wrecks yet another car I do smile. Why is this? What appeals to
us?

I’m working on a new character right now and have started my
list of what is going to make her special. What are the qualities that will
make you cheer for her, cry with her, and think she is just a little quirky?

Examples of some of my dear characters’ interests have been
or might yet to be are :

-Working through Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations and sprinkling odd references
throughout her dialogue;

-Collecting pin cushions (this became a helpful
red herring);

-Clipping obituary notices of people with odd
names;

-Using sticky notes all over the house to remind
her of what to do. Often she needs a note to remind her to read the notes;

-Planning elaborate trips with maps, restaurant
notes, train schedules and more for adventures she’ll never take;

-Learning a new foreign language every year.
She’s on number four but not very good in any of them;

-Watching old movies that have very sad endings;

-Raising tropical fish in a salt water tank, that
always has some malfunction, and;

-Inventing new gizmos that will somehow make your
life better, or more interesting.

The list goes on. As you can tell, I like quirky. When you
are reading, what makes a character come to life for you? If you are a writer,
how do you decide the components that turn your new friends from drag and
ordinary to bold and imaginative? Do share.

15 comments:

I noticed that some of the initial letters are cut off when I made my list of quirky activities. I did that as a series of bullets in Word then pasted it into Blogger. Guess you can't do that! If anyone can't read it, let me know.

Morning Cassy, that is if your in on the East coast and not traveling someplace in the world. If not then just insert the correct time of day.In fiction there are thre characters that stick out in my mind as quirky.Mort from our dear friend Kari's cozy. How he showed up, disappeared, popped in/out. He added that little touch to keep me reading to see what he'd do next.The next is Chet, aka Chet the Jet, from the Spencer Quinn Chet and Bernie Mystery Series. It is interesting how Spencer would put us in Chet's mind and know what he was thinking or wanting to do.Finally, Dakota. The hero in my Emily Dahill series. Instead of putting the reader in his mind I have the reader see and feel what he's doing, from dropping a potential assailant to playing drums in the Army base band.Interesting, the quirkiest characters I've encountered are canine or feline.

I love quirky characters, Cassy. I have to admit I did like the Three Stooges, and I LOVE Stephanie Plum. One of my favorite quirky characters is from that series. Lula is just hilarious. The minute she hits the page, I'm laughing.